


i'd fight the world for you.

by ambiguousreality



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bad Flirting, Character Death, Happy Ending, M/M, Mutual Pining, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, bad action scenes im sorry, for sns at least!, its cliché and cheesy this is your warning, naruto has high blood pressure probably, now with bonus fluff in chap 2!, sasukes shameless when it comes to getting what he wants (hint: its naruto), tw: itachi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:48:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguousreality/pseuds/ambiguousreality
Summary: Sasuke put his arms around Naruto's waist, drew him closer to his chest, and whispered in his ear, “You’re stupid. I like that in a man.”[or: not even the end of the fucking world could stop naruto and sasuke from finding each other]
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 68
Kudos: 459
Collections: Best of SNS, Extraordinary SNS Fics💕





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi yall!
> 
> its finally here. the fucking apocalypse au ive been writing and rewriting, and then rewriting some more bc i still hated it. i kinda still do but here it is anyway. take it. i dont want it anymore.
> 
> im dedicating this to rach again, bc she was sweet enough to proof read this mess for me and give me pointers and shit. rach, if ur reading this, i Am giving u my first born child.
> 
> reminder to look out for the warning! its no apocalypse au without a little blood, guts and death, so if thats not your thing, this fic is probably not for u!
> 
> alright, hope at least some of u will enjoy this! then the hell i went thru to give birth to this bastard will be worth it.
> 
> happy reading???

Naruto didn’t really remember when the world turned to shit. Couldn’t recall when worrying about what he was going to wear to school the next day got replaced by fearing whether he would even live to see another sunrise, or not.

His memory only retained bits and pieces of what life used to be like before the Dead started roaming the earth.

The only thing still vividly alive in his mind was the shocking red hair of his mother. The kind smile of his father.

That was all he had, now. Memories.

(He didn’t even think to take a few photographs with him when they had to run for their lives.)

X

The government tried to keep things quiet at the beginning – business as usual.

When the information started leaking out, though… no one believed them.

_What a fucking cliché. A zombie apocalypse? Please, we've heard enough of that shit already._

(By the time people started taking it seriously, it was already too late.)

X

It was a _virus_ , they said. _Human experiments gone wrong_. Not like it fucking mattered anymore, anyway. They were all gone. Almost everyone was.

No matter the means, the result was the same. You either get turned, or manage to be one of the few lucky ones who actually _stay_ dead.

The only cure? A bullet straight through the fucking brain.

X

His parents were alive, for a while.

When it all began, they ran together. As the chaos started breaking out, they packed their most essential things, and tried to get to the evacuation zone. They were all promised safe passage and protection.

 _Everything is being handled. Please, do not panic. Things will return back to normal before you know it_ , they said. He scoffed in his head.

 _What a bunch of fucking lies_.

They never made it to the evacuation zone. Because there wasn’t one. The Dead’s numbers were overwhelming. They never stood a chance.

X

Both of his parents were ex-Navy – that was how they met.

His father, Minato, used to serve under the stunning, iron-willed Kushina who was never afraid to say what exactly was on her mind.

(Naruto took after her in that regard.)

Minato claimed it was love at first sight. Kushina begged to differ.

They taught him how to survive.

He could make weapons out of practically anything. Could disinfect and bandage most wounds. Make a fire with rocks like a fucking caveman. Knew the safest spots to sleep and gather supplies from.

But most important of all – the thing his parents made him promise and repeat like a mantra every time before they went to sleep – was to _"Stay alive. Save yourself, don’t try to be a hero. Your life comes before anything else."_

(That was the one promise in his life he didn’t manage to keep.)

X

His parents died saving him.

It almost broke him.

(The only thing that kept him going was the take-no-shit voice of his mom in his head, telling him to _Stay alive_.

He promised them he would try his best.)

X

He’d been on his own after that – for weeks; maybe months. Time wasn’t relevant anymore. It was only ever _eat, sleep, try to take a dump in peace, train, survive. Repeat_.

He almost felt like he was one of the Dead walking the earth.

If he got lucky, he slept in abandoned houses. Maybe on the roofs of broken-down mini-buses. In the backseat of cars left behind by the people who tried to flee to save their lives. Sometimes in trees when he got too far away from areas that humans used to populate.

The only thing keeping him sane in his loneliness was the animals he met on his way. He talked to them about his day. His parents. The things he used to enjoy doing as a little kid; back when dying meant you actually stayed _dead_. Occasionally, he’d just scream and cry about how fucking _unfair_ all of this shit was – he felt a little less insane doing it in the company of beings that actually had blood pumping through their veins. How he missed his dad’s cooking. Even his mom’s well-meaning scoldings. How he wished he could see them again. And his friends. Or just another _goddamn_ person. He didn’t know how long he could do this on his own.

(A little frog kept him company for _days_ and it made him so happy he cried actual tears of joy.)

X

Everything around him was in ruins. The pavement and roads cracked; weed and other plants growing out of them. Houses overgrown with greenery; windows broken, roofs caved in. Nature was slowly taking back what was hers all along.

There were also the corpses turning up all over the place. The first few bodies he encountered made him retch and throw up what little food he had in his stomach.

Even tried burying them with tears in his eyes at the beginning – which would earn him a pet on the head from his mom; an almost pitying look adorning her face, _My sweet boy. The world doesn’t deserve your big heart._

(He’d always get that. _You have so much love to give_.

It used to fill him with anger every time he heard that when he was younger. Made him feel like he was nothing more than a _fraud_ , dependent on other people’s validation to the point that he’d be willing to change who he was just to please others. Drank up _love, care, attention_ with the greediness of a man dying of thirst.

It took him years of therapy to come to understand that his worth wasn’t measured by the approval – or lack, there of – of others. He had the right to exist. He was _allowed_ to take up space; to be annoying, or even a bother, at times. To wear his heart on his sleeve – wield it as a piece of armour, even.

Expecting a little love in return didn’t mean he was giving up parts of himself.)

Slowly, he got used to them. Drying corpses were just a part of the scenery now.

X

He was wandering around an unfamiliar area in hopes of stocking up on food; maybe even toothpaste, if he was lucky.

A huge building – it looked like it used to be a mall – came into his view. _Nice._ He might even find some new clothes. The ones he was wearing now could barely be even called that. His pants had tears so big in them they were practically shorts; the black shirt stretched around his chest so faded it looked grey at this point.

As he approached the mall, a sudden, loud noise had him immediately on high alert, looking around him with sharp eyes; trying to locate the source.

He grabbed his machete harder in his right hand – he’d had it for years now, having found it in one of the houses they used to stay at with his parents a while back.

(He was sure the old man he took it of off didn’t mind. But he was kind of too dead to protest.)

Taking a step closer in the direction where the sound came from, his parents’ voices rang through his mind; almost as a reflex.

 _Stay alive. Save yourself, don’t try to be a hero. Your life comes before anything else_.

He chuckled to himself. _Sorry, folks. I have to do this. What good is my life if I have no one to stay alive for?_

With that, he rounded the corner, machete raised.

The sight that greeted him had his blood freezing over.

 _The Dead_. A horde of them. They were gathered around something. Trying to get to it, by the looks of it. Only, there was a wire fence in their way.

Turning his head to the side, he found the source of the shouting he heard.

“Itachi!”

It was a man. A man with a fucking _sword_ that he was currently using to chop off the heads of the Dead like it was nothing; apparently trying to draw them closer to himself.

“Itachi! Fucking say something, you prick! I know you’re still alive!”

_He’s trying to save someone?_

Naruto didn’t hesitate. Machete once again raised, he charged at the Dead with a shout.

The man with the sword only gave Naruto a brief, shocked look, but turned his head back just as quickly – the momentary lack of focus almost cost him one of the Dead taking a bite out of his shoulder. He managed to fend it off with a kick; the next second, it wasn’t moving anymore.

Naruto, finally getting close enough to strike, took out two of the Dead with a single swing.

He couldn’t help it. He grinned. This was the first time he saw anyone _alive_ since his parents – not counting his little friends.

With another swing, he yelled, “Need a hand?”

The man, in the middle of ripping his weapon out from the skull of one of the Dead, gave him another quick look, then answered, “A little too fucking late to be asking that, isn’t it?”

Naruto’s grin widened. Ah, how he missed interacting with assholes.

“You looked like you were in trouble, and I’m a nice dude. Who’s Itachi?” He quickly raised his forearm to swipe the sweat gathering on his forehead, panting. _Killing the dead was quite the fucking workout._

“None of your fucking business.” Gracefully wiping the dark, stinking blood off his blade on the sleeve of his worn sweater, the man raised it up to his head. Then, stuck it through the skull of two of the Dead in one move. He was getting closer to whatever the group was trying to devour on the other side of the fence.

“Alright, dickhead! Just trying to help.”

“Didn’t fucking ask for it, did I?” With that, he climbed on top of a burnt down car, trying to see above the heads of the Dead. “Itachi! Answer me, god damn it!”

Naruto looked around; locating another abandoned vehicle, he mimicked the man. Only, when he got on and straightened up, his breath got caught in his throat. _A body_. A body that was covered in red. _No wonder they were practically ignoring them. The Dead were drawn by the smell of fresh blood_.

The fence didn’t look like it would hold up for much longer.

Cupping his hands and raising them to his mouth, he shouted, “I see a body! I think he’s still breathing!”

The man turned his head so fast it almost looked like a blur. He jumped down and sprinted to the other side of the parking lot where Naruto was still standing on the roof of the wreck. Jumping up with ease, he demanded, “Where!”

Pointing in the right direction, Naruto answered, “Over there, on the other side of the fence.”

The man immediately focused his attention there, eyes burning with intensity.

Naruto tentatively inquired, “...What happened?”

Teeth clenching, the man bit out, “What the hell do you think happened? It’s the end of the fucking world if you haven’t noticed, idiot!” Eyes closing, taking a deep breath in, he continued in a lower voice. “We run into a horde of them on a supply run.” Opening his eyes, and looking Naruto straight in the eyes for the first time, he added, “And now my brother is probably dying and I don’t know what the fuck to do!” His voice was gradually raising as he spoke.

Naruto didn’t let the man’s tone bother him. Nothing could have changed what came out of his mouth next, ”Let me help.” It was almost a demand, his eyes filling with determination.

The man just stared into his eyes; a few seconds passed. Then – apparently coming to a decision – he spoke up, “Fine.” He jumped off the wreck, readying his sword, not taking his eyes off the horde. “But if you die, that’s on you.”

Scowling, Naruto jumped off as well, “Aw, no need to be so worried, bastard.”

The man ignored him. “Do as I say, and we might make it out of this shit alive.”

Naruto chose to not comment. He gripped his machete with brutal force. “So, what’s the plan?”

Turned out, they worked effortlessly well together.

They could read each other’s body language with a look. Had each other’s backs without a word exchanged – despite the man's words earlier implying he’d leave him to fend for himself if it came to it.

(He didn’t. Even saved his ass a few times when his machete got stuck in gross shit he’d rather not think about. If he hadn't been too busy trying to stay alive, he would have gagged.)

They did manage to make it out alive.

X

Later, they were laying on their backs on the roof of the mall, limbs spread out in every which way – panting. This was their quickest way to escape. Running from a horde would be just plain insanity.

The blooded body – Itachi, apparently – was between them; his eyes closed, covered in shallow wounds. Up close, Naruto could see a sheen of sweat layering his skin. He looked sickly pale; probably running a fever.

Naruto was the first one to sit up, still breathing heavily. He reached his hands behind himself, putting his weight on them. Turning to the man beside him, he spoke up, “Well. Holy shit.”

The man gave a snort in response, “Holy shit is right.”

“I’m Naruto, by the way,” he offered with a grin. Then, his eyes narrowed playfully, “Not that you asked, asshole.”

He was still riding the adrenaline high of actually _surviving_ that shit fest on the ground. And he only had a few scratches, too.

The man turned to him with a barely-there smirk, “Oh, I’m sorry. I was too busy trying not to _die_ to ask.” His smirk widened slightly, “Or to care.” Despite his words, he reached out with an arm, his palm and fingers extended as he sat up himself, “Sasuke.”

Naruto reached out as well, shaking the man’s – Sasuke’s – hand with a hard grip. His skin was calloused; but then, so was Naruto’s. Survival was a tough business.

As their eyes locked, Naruto felt goose bumps break out on his arm. He chalked it up to his body coming down from its fight-or-flight mode.

When they drew their hands back, he finally took a good look at him.

Sasuke had a vertical scar going through his right eyebrow, stretching from his eyelid to almost his hairline. It looked ragged around the edges. Long-time healed.

(That didn’t surprise Naruto in the slightest; he had his own collection of battle wounds – like the one across his cheek, or the big on his back – that, in his humble opinion, made him look like a badass.

He was even _proud_ of them. They were a visible sign that he was still _here, alive_ , despite all the shit he’d been through.)

Sasuke’s eyes were so black he could almost see his own reflection in them. His hair was just as dark. It was tied up, but the strands were falling out; wavy locks framing a sharp jawline. Cheeks slightly red from the fighting and dragging a barely conscious body up the ladder at the side of the building. They were also stained with dirt and blood.

His clothes looked worn out and dirty – blood covering them all over. His sweater and loose jeans even had a few holes in them. Combat boots threadbare.

(Naruto thought he looked _cool_.)

Sasuke nodded his head down at the man still lying between them, and tucked on, “And this fucker is Itachi.” He poked said man in the side, “You’d better not be dead, asshole, or I’ll kill you myself.”

The only sign Itachi gave that he heard his brother was a weak raise of his arm. Which he used to slap Sasuke square on the forehead with a _smack_ , eyes still closed. Then promptly passed out right afterward.

(Naruto was a little bewildered. _Is this how siblings usually act?_ For the first time in his life, he was kind of glad he was an only child.)

It was getting dark. The sun was gradually getting lower and lower on the horizon.

“We should probably spend the night here.”

Naruto turned his head to Sasuke and saw him nod in response. There were still too many of the Dead around. They wouldn’t make it in the dark.

They cleaned up and bandaged most of Itachi’s wounds, along with the few of their own. Sasuke was, yet again, reluctant to let him help, but seeing as only Naruto had his backpack full of supplies with him, Sasuke didn’t really have a choice. With a slightly irritated voice, he still felt the need to add, “Don’t think this means I owe you. I didn’t ask for your help.”

Naruto only answered with a cheeky grin, “Wouldn’t dream of it, asshole.”

Collecting a pretty decent pile of wood that was discarded around the roof – probably from the heavy storms; the wind picked up all sorts of weird shit – Naruto set them afire with his caveman skills. _His mom would be so proud_.

He unconsciously smiled to himself.

Sasuke's sarcastic comment snapped him out of his thoughts, “Wow. Impressive.”

Naruto gave him a sharp look, “Do you do anything else besides being an asshole?”

Sasuke answered in a casual tone, “Sure I do. I also sleep sometimes.”

Naruto murmured a quiet, “Bastard,” under his breath.

Getting up to move closer to the warmth of the fire, Sasuke rubbed his hands together. It was getting chilly. He gave Itachi a brief look, probably making sure his chest was still moving.

Meaning to provide a little comfort, Naruto spoke up, “He’s gonna be okay.”

Sasuke only snorted, “Of course he’s gonna be okay. He’s a stubborn prick.”

Naruto didn't know what to make of that answer.

“Are you guys… not that close?” Naruto didn’t want to overstep; they barely just met. Still. He couldn’t help being a little curious. And if killing fucking _zombies_ together didn’t warrant glossing over the awkward small talk, then nothing did.

Sasuke gave him an unreadable look. Sitting down and crossing his legs, he rested his elbows on his knees, putting his chin in his palm. “Do you make a habit out of asking strangers personal questions?”

Giving a slight chuckle, Naruto answered with a sheepish smile, “What can I say, I’m a friendly dude.” His lips stretching into a grin, he added, “And I think we’re past just strangers at this point, don’t you think? Nothing like a little murder to make you bond.”

Expression sobering, the smile left his mouth. He spoke up in lower voice; a little sadness leaking into his tone despite his best efforts, “It’s hard to ask questions when there’s no one alive around to answer you.”

Sasuke’s face hardened. An unreadable look took over his expression. “You’re on your own?”

Naruto scratched his cheek, feeling a little self-conscious – fuck knows why, “Yeah?” With an awkward laugh, he tried joking to cover up the fact that he was getting a bit uncomfortable with the subject, “I’m not hiding anyone up my ass, scout’s honour.”

He'd never even been a scout. What the fuck.

Ignoring him, Sasuke insisted, “How long?”

Looking at anywhere but the man in front of him, he answered, “I don’t know. Months, probably. What does it matter?”

Sasuke stayed silent for a few seconds. The unreadable expression on his face was back. The way he was staring at Naruto with an intent, contemplative look made his cheeks a little warm. Then, almost like a demand, “You should come with us.”

Naruto was shocked, mouth forming a little ‘o’. His heart also started to pick up its pace. “Come with you? Where?”

Sasuke looked almost... embarrassed, like he didn’t actually mean to say that out loud. Putting one arm behind him on the ground, leaning his weight back on it, the perfect picture of _cool and unbothered_ , he explained, “We have a camp not too far from here. With people you can ask all your stupid questions from.” Leaning forward and uncrossing his legs, he stood, “Anyway, think about it. Or don’t. Whatever. I gotta piss.”

As Sasuke disappeared in the dark, Naruto was left with his mouth still slightly agape.

_A camp? With people? He wouldn’t have to be alone anymore?_

(Even if Sasuke was just tricking him, planning on killing him and dumping his body on the side of the rode, he wouldn’t think twice about saying yes.

He couldn't really imagine anything that was worse than what he'd already been through.)

After Sasuke came back from finishing his business, washing his hands with the bottle of water Naruto generously offered him, they settled around the fire. The moon shone brightly in the clear night sky. _They were lucky it didn’t rain._

“So, what’s your deal?” Sasuke spoke up as he laid down.

Naruto, confused, raised his eyes to meet Sasuke’s, “What do you mean?”

“Why’s an idiot travelling on his own, butting his nose into other people’s business?”

Offended, Naruto couldn’t help but squawk, voice raising, “Butting into–, fuck you! What did you expect me to do? Turn the other cheek? Go on like I didn’t see anything? I don’t make a habit out of leaving people for dead if I can help it, asshole!”

(That was just how he was. Always had been. Couldn’t _not_ interfere when he thought he could do something to change the situation. Even in kindergarten, when he was barely old enough to talk, he’d go charging at anyone – no matter how much _bigger_ they were than him – he saw picking on the less fortunate. Little fists raised with all the self-righteous anger his tiny body could handle.

He only knew the stories from his mom. She used to love bragging about her _baby_ to anyone who’d listen. _He’s my son, alright!_ Proud smiles present even when she was trying to be all business when scolding him for getting into another fight. It always filled his tummy with warm, liquid love.)

Snapping out from his musings, he could make out the bored look Sasuke was giving him even in the low light of the fire. “You finished? It was just a simple question.”

Naruto blushed a little, ashamed.

(The implication that he was _not needed_ , a _burden_ , still managed to raffle his feathers, sometimes. Especially after a fucking exhausting day.)

His brows drawing together, he replied, “You’re the one being a dick. All I did was help.”

Sasuke’s eyebrows raised, “You literally ran at me with a raised machete, screaming like a maniac.”

Blush coming back with full force, he protested, “That was a passionate battle cry! That’s how they used to do it in the movies!” Now that he just said that out loud, he realized, perhaps, he shouldn’t have? Sasuke already thought he was stupid; he didn’t need to give him any more ammunition to work with.

Sasuke just snorted. “Are you twelve?” Curling up a little on his side to get more warmth, he rested his head on his arm.

Naruto, on the other side of the fire, gave him a hard glare, “Shut up, asshole.”

Only a hum was his response. Then, “You still haven’t answered my question. How come you’re alone?”

Naruto sat up and crossed his arms. “Why are you the only one allowed to ask questions here? You basically told me to fuck off when I tried earlier.”

Unbothered, Sasuke threw back, “Just making sure you’re at least slightly tolerable.” Turning on his back, putting his arms behind his head, he added, “Because if not, consider my offer taken back.” He turned his neck to look into Naruto’s eyes, a little smirk present on his lips.

Naruto let out a mock-offended scoff, averting his gaze, lips pouting the slightest bit, “I’ll let you know, I’m a fucking delight. Everyone _loves_ me.”

Sasuke gave a little laugh, “I’m sure they do.”

Naruto turned his head back in the direction of black orbs, but he could only detect playfulness in the other’s gaze. No malicious intent. His face soothed out.

In a quieter voice, he finally answered, “Everyone else’s dead. It’s just me, now.”

Sasuke stayed silent. Naruto laid back down, looking up at the endless darkness of the sky above him.

After a few heartbeats, Sasuke finally whispered in a scratchy tone – almost as a payback for the vulnerability Naruto showed him, “I’ve lost people, too.”

They didn’t speak after that.

When morning came, Naruto awoke on the hard ground, decently rested.

(He tried using a small branch as a pillow, but by the third time it almost took his eye out, he chucked it to the side.

It wasn’t Sasuke’s _clearly unhelpful_ suggestion of, “You have a backpack, idiot, use that,” that made his sleep better. No, sir. Not at all.)

Sasuke was already awake, kneeling on the ground next the ashes of the fire that kept them warm during the night, changing Itachi’s bandages. When he noticed Naruto sitting up, he turned to him with a small smirk, “Look who’s finally alive. You were snoring so fucking loud, I’m surprised the Dead didn’t figure out a way to get up here.”

Still bleary, Naruto made an indignant noise, protesting, “Hey! I don’t sno-, oh, he’s awake?” He reached up to rub the remnants of sleep from his eyes.

Sasuke only nodded, “Hn.” Turning back to Itachi, he said, “Say hi to Naruto. He’s the idiot who…” Almost as if the words were painful to say out loud, “… _helped_ drag your ass up here.”

“Hey!” Naruto yelled. “Stop calling me that! And I helped _your_ ass, too, asshole!”

“My _ass_ was doing just fine without you, thanks,” Sasuke answered, the smirk seemingly never leaving his face. _Bastard_.

Itachi inspected them with a funny look. His eyes were a similar colour to Sasuke’s – only, his looked more _empty_ , almost dead – his shoulder-length hair a faded black. “Is that so? I believe a thank you is in order then. Though, I must admit, I’m surprised Sasuke let you.”

Naruto’s cheeks warmed a little, scratching the back of his neck, “No need for that.” Then he grinned, “Though, this stubborn asshole _was_ ready to impale me on his sword, but my charming personality won him over.”

Itachi looked back at Sasuke with raised eyebrows, “Oh?”

Sasuke only gave him a deadpan look. “Shut the fuck up.” Then slapped him in the face with the bandages. “Do the rest yourself. You’re clearly well enough.”

“You wound me, little brother.” Sitting up, he added with a hardened tone, “And I told you to leave me behind.”

Sasuke stood with a scoff, voice biting, “And I told _you_ that was not fucking happening. Who else would have covered me on the way back?” Turning to Naruto, he continued, “We’re leaving soon. You coming or what?”

Naruto couldn’t help the toothy smile that broke out on his face, “Well, since you offered so nicely, I guess…”

Sasuke only murmured a low, “God help me,” in response.

Itachi slowed them down a bit. He could walk on his own, his wounds weren’t too serious; it was the fever still working its way through his system that made him weaker. Naruto found out that that was the reason he even ended up bloodied on the ground in the first place. He had already felt sick when they set out with Sasuke; only, he thought it wouldn’t be an issue. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. When they run into the horde, he hadn’t had enough energy to fight back. If it wasn’t for the protection of the fence, he wouldn’t be here anymore.

As they were walking, Naruto felt like a man on a mission. He wouldn’t admit out loud – Sasuke would just make fun of him; _again_ –, but it was really like a scene straight out of one of the movies he used to love watching as a kid. Streets empty, machete in hand, looking out for any sign of danger, while Sasuke did the same thing at his side. Only with his sharp blade.

Breaking the silence, he spoke up, “So, where’s this camp of yours?”

Itachi, opening his mouth to respond – used to Sasuke only letting his voice out when it was absolutely necessary – was surprised when it was actually his brother who answered, “About a 2 hour walk from here, that’s all you need to know.”

Naruto huffed, “Why the secrecy? If I wanted to fuck you guys over, I’d have just done so while you were sleeping.”

Sasuke turned to him with a smirk, pointing the sword in his grip at Naruto’s throat, “I’d like to see you try, idiot.”

Batting the blade away from his face with his own weapon, Naruto narrowed his eyes, “I could kick your ass, bastard.”

Sasuke let out a genuine laugh at that, eyes almost completely closing, “You talk big for someone who woke up screaming because a bug crawled on his face.”

Blushing furiously, Naruto let out an indignant whine, “It was huge and fucking disgusting! Anyone would’ve done the same!”

Sasuke snorted, “If that’s what you need to tell yourself to sleep better at night, sure.” Just to rile Naruto up even more – on purpose, Naruto knew – he added, “You have a fucking machete. It’s the end of the goddamn world. And you’re afraid of a cockroach. Unbelievable.”

Puffing up his cheeks, Naruto averted his gaze, “I can kill the dead. Cockroaches are immortal and should be feared.”

Another laugh leaving Sasuke’s mouth, he struck Naruto in the side with the handle of his blade, “You’re so fucking stupid.”

“Ouch, asshole! That hurt!” Sasuke managed to hit him right at the bruise under his shirt. Just as he was in the middle of hitting Sasuke back, arms already raising, Itachi interrupted.

(Naruto was kind of glad. They were grown-ass adults – he was pretty sure Sasuke was around his age – not fucking twelve years old. Jesus. They also couldn’t afford to get distracted with petty bickering; they weren’t exactly safe. Not paying attention could cost them their lives.)

“I see you two get along well.” He was watching them with that funny look again. It creeped the hell out of Naruto. “Sasuke doesn’t usually warm up to strangers so quickly.”

Said man let out a long suffering sigh, “I’m literally standing right fucking here.”

Itachi ignored him and went on, “And asking you to come along? Interesting.” He looked at Sasuke, “I’m certain that has never happened before.”

Gritting his teeth, Sasuke bit out, “Itachi. Shut your mouth.”

Itachi gave him a fake smile, “Just making friendly conversation with your friend here, little brother. No need to get angry.”

Before Sasuke could tell Itachi to eat shit, Naruto interrupted, “Aw, bastard! You like me! See, I told you! Nothing like a little murder to bring people closer together!”

Picking up his pace, Sasuke turned his back on them. “Go die. Both of you.”

Running up to him with a grin, Naruto threw his arm – the one not holding his machete – around Sasuke’s neck, “You can act like you don't give a shit all you want, dickhead! You _liiike_ me!”

Without looking at Naruto, Sasuke deadpanned, “Take your hand off me, or I’ll rip it out of its socket and strangle you with it.”

Naruto gave him another shit-eating grin, “Sure, _bestie_.”

His arm stayed around Sasuke.

Sasuke only elbowed him in the gut for it twice.

X

Luckily, they didn’t encounter the horde again.

The few of the Dead that roamed around the road could be easily taken care of.

(They even made a competition out of whose kill count was higher.

Sasuke won.

Naruto was convinced he cheated.)

X

The camp really wasn’t much.

It was hidden behind a forest, off the main road. It wasn’t easy to find, if you didn’t know where to look.

It looked like a run-down little village in a huge clearing; a 3-meter-high, clearly hand-built wooden fence around it. There was even a watchtower on the tallest of the trees near the see-through, iron gate, where two people were keeping a lookout; guns clasped in their hands. Naruto could also see people patrolling the area, just as armed.

As they approached, he could see houses beyond the gate, only a few yards or so from each other; they were mainly one-store, built from all the materials nature provided them with: mud, wood, hay. They clearly weren’t here, _before_. Built to shield people from the terrors of the world around them.

Moving his eyes a little further, he could also see more people were walking around inside, minding their business. Some chopping wood, others polishing guns. A few kids playing.

Naruto took it all in with awe. To him, it looked _perfect_.

Upon seeing the brothers getting closer, one of the guards shouted down at them, “Yo!” Inclining his head in the direction of the man standing next to him, he added with a grin, “See, Kakashi, I told you these fuckers weren’t that easy to kill.” He gave a sour look when he noticed they weren’t carrying any extra bags with them, “No food, though? Damn.” Then, as if only just realizing the state they were in, he nodded his head in the direction of Itachi, “He alive?”

Sasuke, with one of his arms around Itachi’s back to help him keep steady – the walk back to camp took a toll on him – spoke up in a deadpan voice, “No, he’s clearly dead.” Then, with a long-suffering sigh, he added, “Just open the fucking gates already, Obito. He needs medicine.”

“Alright, dickhead. You’re pleasant, as always.” But he moved down to open the gates, anyway.

When they were finally let inside, Naruto sucked in a deep breath. _He’s really here. Jesus._ He was shitting himself a little with nerves, but also excitement. It had been a long time since he’d been around this many people.

Just as he was closing the gate back up, the man with scars covering half of his face – Obito, as Sasuke called him – addressed Naruto, “And you are?”

Naruto reached his arm out in greeting with a sheepish smile, “The name’s Naruto. Nice to meet ya.” Obito’s face morphed into a question mark as he shook his hand. “Sasuke offered me a place to stay, hope that’s cool.”

A shit-eating grin broke out on Obito’s face, “He did, didn’t he? Our little Sasuke is such a _generous_ man, _ne_ , Kakashi?” He turned his head back in the direction of the man still up on the watchtower.

Kakashi just raised his eyes from the book he was immersed in with a bored look, taking in the group of 3 standing in front of the now closed gate. “My, my. What a weird time to be picking up a boyfriend, Sasuke.” With a smile – his eyes scrunching up and half closing was the only indication of the expression, since his mouth was covered with a mask –, he added, “But each to his own.”

Sasuke just flipped him off, ignoring them to look at a slightly bewildered Naruto, starting in the direction of the path leading inside, “Don’t mind these assholes. They lost too many brain cells jerking it ten times a day.” Fastening Itachi’s arm around his neck, he added, “C’mon, follow me. I’ll take you to Hashirama after I drop Itachi off at Temari. She’s no doctor, but she’s the best we’ve got.” Turning to Itachi, he added, “If you die from pneumonia in the middle of a fucking apocalypse, I’ll piss on your grave.”

Itachi gave him a delirious smile, “Your concern warms my heart, little brother.”

Naruto’s eyebrows raised up so high they almost touched his hairline. _Sasuke sure had a weird ass way of showing he was worried._

Then, confusion broke out on his face as Sasuke’s words registered. “Who’s Hashirama?”

Walking inside, people were staring at him with curiosity – it made him a little embarrassed, but he knew it was for good reason; he was the outsider here, after all –, but offering friendly greetings to the brothers.

It was a half-conscious Itachi who answered, “He’s one of the people who founded this place. You could say he’s the boss around here. What he says, usually goes.”

 _Oh, shit._ That didn’t really help his nerves.

X

Turned out, Naruto had nothing to worry about.

When Sasuke led him to the smallest house in the middle of the little village, explaining the short version of what happened – giving extra details of how Naruto came screaming at him with guns blazing just to spite him – Hashirama just slapped him on the back with a loud cackle. “You’ll fit right in. We’re all a little crazy around here.”

(The man looked to be around his 60s; a few wrinkles and greying hair indicating his old age. He also had a little madness lurking around his eyes. But Naruto couldn’t deny the warm, almost welcoming vibe he gave off.)

Naruto only gave the man an awkward chuckle, turning to a cross-armed, smirking Sasuke with a _What the fuck_ look.

“Come on, idiot. I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

As they made their way outside of Hashirama's place, he couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the old man’s deal? He seems a bit… you know.”

With his hands in his pockets, Sasuke looked at him with a glint in his eyes, dark curls falling messily around his face; loose locks sneaking out of his hairband again, “Insane? Yeah. Legend has it he founded this place with his epic gay lover over a decade ago, who he ended up having to kill after the man got bitten. I say it’s bullshit, but fuck knows.”

Naruto’s curiosity got the better of him again, “And how did you and Itachi end up here?”

Without looking at him, Sasuke shrugged. “Same way you did.”

He didn’t elaborate.

X

Naruto ended up getting a futon in an unused bedroom in one of the cabin-like little houses in the village. He only had his backpack with his supplies, some leftover food, a few spare underwear and his machete to his name, so it was more than enough.

Sasuke introduced him to the other people staying there. Naruto didn’t mind. He’d had enough of sleeping on his own for a lifetime.

(Only Hashirama lived on his own. Everyone else was roomed with two, or sometimes even more people. They were running out of place to offer as more and more people were taken in over the years. Additional places needed to be built – Naruto already saw the begging of the few them on their way here.)

Kiba and Neji – his _roommates_ now – welcomed him with figurative open arms. Even if Neji was a little less obvious about it. He mostly just stared at him.

“ _Dude!_ We heard you saved the Uchiha's ass! That’s epic!”

(Apparently, word travelled fast around here. That wasn’t surprising. The village barely had a few hundred people.)

Naruto grinned. He and Kiba would get along _just_ fine.

X

That night, they had a little bonfire – apparently, it was their tradition; every time someone new joined their community, it was their way of welcoming them.

The game the hunters managed to kill was being cooked on a smaller fire.

Naruto had a chance to be introduced to almost everyone, exchanging at least a few words with every villager.

(He’d take a little time to learn everyone’s names, but that was okay. He had time, now.)

They told him about the system they had in place. How work outside of the village must always be done _at least_ in pairs – more, if they had enough people. Supply runs could be either done by car, or walking, depending on the distance - if it weren't too far, they shouldn't waste gas. They were low on working walkie-talkies, so the few they had would be carried by the current guards up on the watchtower, and the only group out on a supply run that day. This was the only way they could contact each other if shit hit the fan.

(Sasuke and Itachi were carrying one, as well, when Naruto run into them. But during the fighting, it got lost, along with their bags; backup wouldn’t have been arriving for them.)

No one did anything permanently. They had a rotating schedules in place; the person who was tasked to gather firewood in the surrounding forest would be on food-run duty come next week, and so on. This was their way to ensure that there was no hierarchy, no unfair treatment. No person’s life was worth more than the other’s. Even Hashirama’s boss status was more out of respect than anything else. It gave comfort to people to have a symbolic leader they felt like they could depend on.

Also, the few rules they had to ensure that the village could continue to exist and offer protection. Like how guards had to be up on the watchtower 24 hours of the day; shift changes couldn’t get in the way of looking out for any sign of danger. The outside of the fence and the surrounding area had to be patrolled daily, a rule set in place after the village almost got wiped out from existence when they were overrun with by a large group of the Dead that were attracted by the noise. They had fortified the fence since then to ensure that that never happened again. Any of the Dead should be killed on sight, as soon as they spotted them.

If they ever met anyone else on their supply runs, they had to make sure they could be trusted before bringing them along. Showing how to find the place to people with bad intentions could be fatal.

(Naruto’s stomach twisted at that. Sasuke _trusted_ him. Not completely; that much was obvious from his short answers and almost cold behaviour when it came to sharing anything personal about himself. But enough to offer Naruto a place to call _home_. That was more than Naruto could ask for at this point.)

(That didn’t mean Naruto would settle for that in the long run, though.

He was determined to make Sasuke his best friend. Whether the asshole liked it, or not.)

X

For the next few weeks, he was assigned smaller tasks inside the walls, getting to really know the people and the finer details of the place.

As time passed, he awoke with a pleasant feeling in his belly more and more frequently.

The last time he could remember feeling like he _belonged_ , was the final night he spent laughing with his parents. Before he lost them.

(Waking up in a cold sweat, breathing laboured – nightmares of his parents getting torn to pieces, while he could do nothing but _watch_ , still fresh on his mind – never failed to dampen his spirits. But slowly, he was getting better. He even dreamt of happiness, now, sometimes.)

With every – now familiar – smile that greeted him while doing his chores; every teasing remark Sasuke threw his way that never failed to rile him up; breathing became easier.

He was going to be okay.

(He hoped his parents were watching him from somewhere, and were proud of him for it.)

X

The more time he spent getting used to a semblance of normalcy, the more Naruto realized his favourite part of each day was the time he could spend with Sasuke.

Whether it be doing chores together - washing the dishes after a cookout that every villager not on watch duty participated in, fishing, collecting fire wood. Or just running into each other when they were on different schedules.

(He felt a little ridiculous for how quickly he became so attached to the other man, but _sue_ him. Being around Sasuke made him feel warm, pleasant; _seen_.

Never in his life had he been more _happy_ to be called a dumbass on a regular basis.)

Seeking Sasuke out at any chance he got became the norm.

It even got so ridiculous that he started missing Sasuke when they couldn’t see each other for a few hours.

(And it was especially bad when Sasuke had to leave to go on a supply run, and he couldn’t tag along – he didn’t want to be ungrateful and demand he’d paired up with him; the villagers were doing _him_ a favour by letting him stay. He wouldn’t take that for granted. So he sucked it up, and learned to live with the knot in his stomach that didn’t let up until he saw Sasuke walk through the gates again.)

(He refused to think about how each day could be the last he ever saw Sasuke.)

X

To Naruto’s pleasant surprise, Sasuke didn’t seem to mind his slight clinginess – even indulged him more and more, as time passed. Started seeking out Naruto before Naruto could go Sasuke-hunting. Almost as if, dare Naruto think it, he _enjoyed_ being around him, too. The thought made Naruto feel giddy.

(In his defence, he wasn’t doing it on _purpose_. He could just never do anything in moderation. If his stupid little heart decided Sasuke was his favourite person, nothing in this world could stop him from feeling that way.)

They had dinner together on most nights, now. Would sit outside on the grass, watching as the sun went down over the horizon.

Sometimes, they didn’t even talk. Just sat next to each other, arms touching. Giving and receiving comfort.

(Especially after a rough day. People never stopped dying.)

Other times, reminiscing about old times - stupid movies they watched, their favourite video games as children.

Then - as they both realized how good it felt to talk to someone who made them feel like they weren't _alon_ e, that they were _understood -,_ memories, thoughts; even some secrets were shared.

(Naruto felt his heart try to beat out of his ribcage at every word uttered in the dark of the night that helped him get to know Sasuke a little better; treasured them like they were a hard-won price.

Made him almost choke on his feelings when he thought about how Sasuke felt _comfortable_ enough to share himself with him, now. How he _trusted_ him, fully. It meant the world to him.)

He listened with sympathetic tears in his eyes as Sasuke talked about losing his parents - he related to his pain so much it felt like he was the one who lived through it.

(It happened right after the outbreak; they were doctors, some of the best in their field, treating the first few patients – back before anyone knew what they were dealing with.)

Felt the need to go back in time and protect little Sasuke as the other man shared a few details about his childhood; his complicated relationship with his brother.

(As a child, Sasuke practically worshipped him – the older brother that was best at everything he did; Sasuke wanted to be just like him. But gradually, it transformed into resentment, almost _hatred_ at one point, with every dismissive comment Itachi made. Every time Itachi effortlessly got everything Sasuke fought tooth and nail for – their father’s approval; to be treated as his own person instead of a shadow of an older sibling – yet disregarded it all like it was worth nothing. Disregarded _Sasuke_ as if he was not worth his time.

Sasuke even admitted in a low voice, with shame written all over his face, “I used to wish he was dead, sometimes.”

Itachi was still his brother, though. And the only family Sasuke had left. That meant something to him.)

X

Naruto still trained; he couldn’t let his newfound feeling of comfort and safety trick him into thinking he couldn’t die now. Slacking off and getting out of shape could bite him in the ass when it mattered the most.

Usually, it was after Sasuke went back to the little house he shared with his brother, Obito and Kakashi for the night – Naruto had only been over a few times, but Kakashi’s perverted comments and Obito’s smelly feet had him running for the hills in to time. He didn’t know how Sasuke put up with them.

He liked the quiet the night-time provided him; his only source of light a lit lantern hanging from a nail on the side of the cabin he shared with his roommates.

Sometimes, when he wanted a challenge, he’d rope Sasuke into sparring with him.

(Even Kiba or Neji, but since they tended to carry weapons and weren’t used to wielding things that didn’t fire bullets, Naruto didn’t feel the same thrill that buzzed through his veins when it was Sasuke in front of him.

One time, he even managed to convince Temari – their resident doctor – to have a friendly fight. Only, Temari didn’t seem to really grasp the meaning of _friendly_ , and beat his ass so bad he had a slight limp for a few days afterwards.

She’d been like a big sister to him ever since.)

He was on his own, this time, using one of the trees outside their house as a makeshift target to practice his aim. Shirtless, sweat covering his skin, his abs clenched with every hit.

Concentration made him unaware of anything else around him, so when a hand poked him in the back, he almost shat himself. He’d like to think the high-pitched scream didn’t come from his own throat.

(It did.)

He turned around, only to see Sasuke, doubled over, laughing at him like the asshole he was.  
“Dickhead! I’ve told you countless of times to stop doing that shit! Jesus Christ, I think I almost went into cardiac arrest,” he put his hand over his heart; he was still breathing a little hard.

Sasuke just snorted at him, “Not my fault you’re a pussy.” Naruto wanted to punch the evil little smirk off his face.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, “I’ll show you who’s a pussy, bastard.”

Sasuke’s smirk widened, “Oh yeah?” He reached for the sheath of his sword at his hips. “Show me, then.”

Naruto didn’t need to be told twice.

They sparred for hours; the sun slowly set, the only source of light was the bright, full moon up in the sky.

Both of them were panting, sweat dripping down their foreheads and the skin of their backs – Sasuke ditched his shirt as well a while back – matching grins on their faces.

They lost count of who was winning and losing, at this point. They were having fun.

“Guess you’re not as much of a wimp as I thought,” Sasuke taunted, moving in to thrust his sword at Naruto’s head. Breathing heavy.

Raising his machete to counter Sasuke’s attack – their faces inches away, blades crossing – Naruto threw back with a shit-eating grin, “Trying to distract me with sweet compliments? Aw, am I whooping your ass that badly?”

Sasuke’s warm breath hitting his face, he replied in a low voice, “I don’t need to distract you when I’m better than you.” With that, Sasuke pulled back and kicked Naruto’s legs out from under him.

Naruto fell on his ass with a yelp, letting his grip on his machete go in the process. It fell on the ground next to him. Before he could do anything, Sasuke was on him. Pushing him on his back with a quick shove to his chest, he straddled his waist, pointing the tip of his sword at Naruto’s chin with a smug look on his face.

Refusing to break eye-contact, Naruto looked right into Sasuke’s black orbs with a defiant gaze. He tried bucking up in hopes of throwing Sasuke off of him, but all it did was jostle him. Sasuke remained stubbornly seated. The superior look not leaving his expression. It was pissing Naruto off.

_Oh, so that’s how it is._

He leaned into the sword at his neck, the blade nicking his skin slightly in the process. Sasuke’s eyes widened a bit in alarm; he didn’t want to actually hurt Naruto. He was about to pull his arm back, grip on his sword loosening, when Naruto suddenly took advantage of the momentary distraction and knocked the weapon from between his fingers with his elbow. Sasuke was startled, but before he could say anything, Naruto was leaning forward and reversing their position.

Crawling over him, pinning Sasuke’s arms next to his head, Naruto mimicked Sasuke’s smug smirk. “Who’s better _now_ , asshole?” The harsh breaths leaving his mouth were gently moving Sasuke’s wavy bangs around his face.

Sasuke stayed silent for a while; his chest was rising rapidly with every lungful of air in. He stared into Naruto’s eyes with burning intensity. Slowly, his gaze started moving downwards, coming to a halt at Naruto’s full, almost rose-coloured lips. His mouth parted; tongue peeking out to wet his own. Then, as if he suddenly registered Naruto was speaking to him, he asked, “Huh?”

Naruto gave him a weird look. Then, his mind caught up with him, taking in their position. He was balanced on his knees between Sasuke’s slightly opened legs around his waist, leaning into him; bare chests touching. The skin of his sweaty palms felt like it was burning where he was still holding the soft flesh of Sasuke’s inner wrists.

Sasuke’s eyes looked really pretty from this close up. Naruto was mesmerized by the strand of black hair matted onto the scar covering half of Sasuke’s forehead. The saliva on his lips reflected in the moonlight made Naruto want to taste him.

_Wait, what?_

A full blush broke out on his already warm cheeks. Practically jumping back, he let go of Sasuke and quickly stood on shaky legs, “Haha, it’s getting pretty late! Anyway, this was fun,we should do it again sometime! Okay, night!” He booted it the fuck out of their without even looking back, leaving a bewildered Sasuke in his wake.

Reaching his house – it wasn’t far; barely anything within the walls was – his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was trying to escape from behind his ribcage.

_What the fuck. What the fuck was that?_

Before he could catch his breath, chest heaving, leaning forward with his head lowered, Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of him seemingly out of thin fucking air. “Ah! The fuck! How are you everywhere!”

“I walked.”

Then he reached his hand out. Naruto lowered his gaze, seeing his machete held in Sasuke’s grip. “You left this behind, weirdo.”

Naruto awkwardly laughed in embarrassment. One hand reaching behind his neck to scratch at his nape, he extended the other with a sheepish smile. Before his palm could actually make contact with his weapon, Sasuke snatched it out from his reach. Looking up with an indignant, “Hey!” he was met with Sasuke’s black eyes, irises reflecting amusement – and a little something Naruto couldn’t name –, his full lips stretched into a small, playful smile.

“Night, loser.” With that, Sasuke thrust his machete at his chest, and left.

Naruto just stood there, watching his back for a while. Mind reeling.

(He dreamt of a black hole swallowing him up, that night – and many more nights to come.

But it wasn’t scary, by any means. The feeling of being surrounded by the darkness brought him peace. Comfort. Made him feel _safe._ )

(Only after a while could he figure out what the dreams were actually trying to tell him. That there was a _very similar_ darkness that made him feel the same way when he looked into them. The only difference being that he was awake, then.)

That was the night Naruto started falling for his best friend.

X

Their dynamic changed after that.

It wasn’t that obvious, at first. But slowly, Naruto realized that Sasuke’s teasing became a little different.

His remarks used to mostly target his intelligence. His occasional clumsiness. Making fun of his word-vomits.

(Naruto knew by now that Sasuke never meant anything demeaning or hurtful by his _Idiot_ s and _Dumbass_ es; he'd even like to think they were more like terms of endearment.)

Now, though… the teasing could almost be considered _flirty_.

Like the comments about his appearance.

( _’You look hot’_ , when Naruto knew he must have looked ridiculous with a hairband in his hair to keep it from getting into his eyes.)

Even his gestures seemed to have become a lot more _touchier_.

(Now, Naruto wouldn’t have complained about that; he lived for affection. So seeing Sasuke be this comfortable around _him_ _only_ would have had him buzzing out of his skin with happiness.

That was before he realized he actually _liked_ Sasuke, though.

Now, his stupid little heart couldn't handle it.)

A warm palm touching his lower back and waist; gentle fingers tucking his stubborn hair behind his ear, wiping grease from his lips and sucking his own thumb clean afterward. Leaning down to rest his head on his shoulder. Against his temple. Casual kisses against he cheeks. His palm. The tips of his fingers.

He was pretty sure he was even blushing in his sleep, now.

Naruto never knew how the fuck to react to the asshole's shamelessness besides either punching him, or calling him a dick. Maybe both, if he felt like it.

(He tried flirting back, once.

It didn’t go so well.

Instead of getting embarrassed – like Naruto hoped he would –, Sasuke just put his arms around his waist, drew him closer to his chest, and whispered in his ear, “You’re stupid. I like that in a man.”

Naruto couldn’t look him in the eye for days after that.)

X

The only problem was that while Sasuke was treating this as a _game_ – getting a good kick out of flustering Naruto, surely – he was the idiot who caught _feelings_.

X

Naruto was wiping the sweat gathered on his forehead with the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt – he was on wood chopping duty today – when he heard loud hollering from outside the gate.

Looking up, he saw Neji and Kiba parking one of their cars.

(They had several; each serving a different purpose. The truck just pulling up was for supply runs.)

Dropping his axe, he jogged up to them.

With a grin, he addressed Kiba, who was in the middle of getting out of the passenger seat, “What’s all the noise for?”

Neji, stepping out from the driver’s seat, just rolled his eyes. Closing the door, he let out a deep a sigh. “This over-excited _child_ found some whiskey and hasn’t shut the fuck up since.”

Naruto gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Neji just turned on his heel and left them, all the while muttering as he walked away, “I’m not getting paid enough for this shit.”

Looking back at Kiba, Naruto let out a snicker.

He helped Kiba unload the cans of food and other supplies the pair managed to pick up.

When they were done, Kiba threw an arm around him with a grin, “We’re _so_ getting drunk tonight.”

They ended up roasting rabbit meat in their backyard as the sun slowly shrank on the horizon; open bottles of whiskey around them, sitting on logs around the small fire.

It was just Kiba, Neji – who they almost had to drag out of the house; Kiba threatening to burn his only hairbrush was what did the trick eventually –, Sasuke and Naruto.

(Naruto had to practically beg Sasuke to tag along – him and Neji never really got along, for some reason. Only with the promise that he’d do Sasuke’s laundry for a week did he finally agree. _Asshole._ Whatever. A few dirty underwear had nothing on Sasuke’s company.)

He was sitting on one of the wooden logs, Sasuke right beside him, while Kiba was splattered out on the grass, leaning on Neji’s shin – who looked like he was sleeping with his eyes open. _Fucking lightweight_ , Naruto snickered to himself.

Naruto was a little tipsy, too, a stupid grin never leaving his lips. He felt good; warm liquor in his belly, his friends around him. But most importantly, Sasuke at his side.

The skin on his thigh that was touching Sasuke’s felt hot. He moved his leg a little closer, nudging Sasuke in the process. Sasuke nudged him back, turning to him with the mouth of the whiskey bottle between his lips. “Hm?”

Naruto’s grin got even wider. His cheeks felt like they were burning. “Nothin’. Just glad you’re here.”

Sasuke gave him an unreadable look. Eyes contemplating; almost… soft. Gentle. Then his mouth stretched into a little smirk, “Of course I’m here. You’re washing my filthy clothes for a week.”

Naruto let out an indignant noise, slapping Sasuke on the hard muscle of his pants covered leg, “Would it hurt you to not be a dick for 5 seconds? I was being sincere.”

Kiba groaned from the ground. “Ugh, can y’all stop your weird foreplay? Just fuck already.” He was slurring his words. “Or shut up. I’m trying to enjoy my buzz here.”

Naruto threw a handful of dirt at him in response, cheeks hotter than the fire burning at his feet. “What the hell! Shut up, dickhole! We’re not–, that’s not–, ugh, just fuck you!”

Kiba just threw some dirt right back at him with a shit-eating grin, “Eloquent.”

Sasuke reached for his elbow with one hand to drag him back down on the log – just as he was about to get up and beat Kiba’s ass – casually raising his other arm and taking another gulp of whiskey.

When Naruto sat back down with his cheeks puffed out, he felt Sasuke poke him in the side playfully. Then he leaned in closer to whisper – if he meant it to be just for Naruto, he didn’t really succeed – in his ear, “You wish I’d fuck you.”

Mouth dropping open, Naruto turned to him with a gasp. He reached out with both hands, shoving at Sasuke’s chest and effectively pushing him off the log and on his ass on the ground. “ _You_ wish, asshole!”

Sasuke let out a drunken whine from the grass, " _Stooop_ , I could've dropped my whiskey."

"Great comeback, dude. Genius," Kiba piped up. Naruto was going to _kill_ him.

“Shut the fuck up. I hate both of you.”

After Sasuke managed to sit back up with a smug look – surely happy he managed to embarrass Naruto again –, he extended the bottle as a peace offering. Naruto took it with a puff, eyebrows drawn together in mock-irritation.

(The thought of indirectly tasting Sasuke’s lips, swapping saliva, had him monetarily distracted, frustration forgotten.

Looking over at him, he noticed how inviting Sasuke’s mouth looked in the low light of the fire; lips shining with the lingering traces of alcohol still on them. He wanted to feel them moving against his own. Wanted to taste the whiskey straight from his taste buds. The thought had his tongue moving out to wet his lips without his conscious effort.)

It was Sasuke’s deep voice that snapped him out of his reverie, “If you think I won’t kiss you if you keep looking at me like that, you’re dead wrong.”

Naruto snapped out of his drunken haze. He didn’t even notice he was staring.

He snorted, sure Sasuke was just pulling his leg again, "Yeah, right." Then took another swig.

Sasuke just let out a frustrated sigh in response.

After a few more hours of bickering, Kiba decided to call it a night, and hauled a passed out Neji inside.

In the quiet of the darkness, the only sounds that could be heard were the sizzling of the dying fire; owls hooting in the forest outside the fence. The occasional movement of either animals or the villagers currently patrolling the outside area.

Naruto listened with his eyes closed, one arm behind his head, laying on the slightly damp grass.

Sasuke was beside him. Their hands almost touching with every twitch of their fingers.

The world was slightly spinning from the whiskey still buzzing around in his veins when he opened his eyes. He turned his face to the side, dirty blonde hair getting in his eyes again. “S’ske?”

Opening his eyes as well, Sasuke looked back at him. He looked so comfortable. Relaxed. It caught Naruto off-guard a bit.

He knew Sasuke trusted him, but he still had a look on his face – too often for Naruto’s liking – like he was trying to shoulder the weight of the world all alone. The fact he looked almost _carefree_ when it was just the two of them had his next words freezing in his throat.

Unbidden, a sudden realization shot through him like lighting.

 _I love him. Fuck, I_ love _him._

Never the wiser of the thoughts racing through Naruto’s head, Sasuke spoke up when he realized Naruto wasn’t actually going to say anything, “What?”

Naruto still couldn’t find his voice, practically frozen by his epiphany.

They just stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Then Sasuke reached out, tucking the blonde lock in his eyes behind his ear. “Your hair’s getting too long.” It was a low murmur.

Naruto just nodded dumbly. His heart felt like it was growing too big for his chest to contain. He couldn’t stop staring into Sasuke’s eyes. They seemed darker than the night around them.

Moving his hand lower to gently caress the scar on Naruto’s cheek, Sasuke added, “I could cut it for you, if you want.”

Naruto took in a sharp breath. Mind snapping him out of his love sick haze and right back into the past.

Memories suddenly assaulted him. The last person who touched his hair was his mom. It had been more than a year since anything had been done to it – no wonder it was in his eyes all the time; it almost reached his shoulders.

(He associated hands in his messy locks with safety. Love. Comfort. Being cared for. That was what his mom meant to him. Unconditional acceptance.)

The feeling suddenly overwhelmed him, his eyes filling with tears.

Sasuke rolled on his side, speaking in a soft, worried tone, “Hey, what’s wrong?” Trying to lighten the mood, he joked, “I promise I won’t make you bald.”

Sniffling, but still breaking out in a watery little chuckle, Naruto reached up to wipe the tears streaming down his cheeks. “Nothing. It’s stupid.” He let out a miserable laugh, “I’m just drunk and emotional, sorry.”

Sasuke gave him a hard look. “Don’t apologize. Talk to me.”

Naruto breathed in deeply, trying to rearrange his thoughts. “It’s just… It just reminded me of my mom. What you said. She was the only one who ever cut my hair. She refused to let anyone else touch it.” He managed a small, genuine smile. “I just miss her. Dad, too.” His voice was barely a whisper.

Sasuke took his wrist in his hand, thumb caressing his skin. It grounded him. Gave him a little push to go on. “When we met, you asked me why I was on my own. I’ve just realized I never actually told you.”

Sasuke gave him a nod to show that he was listening.

Another deep breath in. “I’d been with my parents since the beginning. I was around 17 when the virus broke out, I think – I don’t really remember." Sudden mortification halted his speech, "Wait, does that mean I’m pushing 30 now?” He stopped keeping tabs on birthdays a long time ago.

Shaking his head, he got back to the subject at hand, “Anyway, we travelled together for years. Moving around a lot, ya know, always trying to find a new place to stay for a while. We gave up trying to settle down anywhere. It was pointless. The result was always the same.” A bitter laugh. ”Death.” A pause. “Losing too many people you grow to care about gets too much after a while, ya know? So we just didn’t try anymore. Kept to ourselves. It was just the three of us against the world.”

He let out another watery laugh; tears pooling in his eyes again. In a softer tone, he added, “They taught me everything I know, ya know. Wouldn’t be here without them.”

Sasuke squeezed his wrist in comfort. “We can change the subject, if you want. It’s up to you.”

Naruto shook his head, wiping the water from his eyes, “No, it’s okay. I didn’t realize how good it actually felt to talk about this to someone I trust.”

Sasuke nodded, reaching down to tangle his fingers with Naruto’s; giving them a grounding squeeze. “…Go on, then. I’m listening.”

Naruto sniffed, giving Sasuke a grateful look.

“…I used to blame myself, ya know. For their death, I mean.” He gripped down hard on Sasuke’s hand in his. “They died for _me_. And I couldn’t do a single fucking thing but watch.” His voice broke by the time the last words were out of his mouth. “You know what’s the last memory I have of my mom?” He didn’t wait for an answer; he wasn’t expecting one, anyway. “Her screaming at me to _Run! Get out of here!_ as the Dead were tearing her into pieces.” He almost choked on the sob that was desperately trying to rip itself out from his throat. “Dad wasn’t alive by then."

Another sniff.

Then, in a whisper so quiet it could barely be heard, "I couldn't even say goodbye.”

He let the tears fall, after that.

Sasuke let him cry till his heart’s content; just lying on the grass in the dark of the night.

Pulling Naruto on to his chest, not minding the snot getting all over his shirt, running soothing circles down Naruto's back, gentle fingers through his hair, Sasuke comforted him with silent tears rolling down his own cheeks, too.

Sharing Naruto's pain as if it was his own.

(Naruto felt the last jagged pieces of his heart right themselves that night.

He _was_ going to be okay. He was sure of that, now.)

X

Sasuke did end up giving him a haircut.

They had just gotten back from a supply run outside of the walls, unloading the track.

Naruto was getting more and more frustrated every time his hair got in the way – sticking to his forehead, getting into his eyes, even if he tied it up.

When a piece made its way into his mouth and tickled his tongue, he had had _enough_.

He found Sasuke chatting with Juugo at the small lake outside of the village, fishing.

Naruto strode up to them with a loud greeting, hopping down on his butt at the shore.

He looked up at Sasuke, who was standing next to him with a fishing rod in his hand. Grabbing the cloth of his pants and tugging on it a little, he got his attention. “Hey, Sas. Still willing to cut my hair?”

Sasuke looked down at him with a soft look. “Sure.”

He responded with a toothy smile, “Cool. Thanks.”

Then just sat and watched as Sasuke expertly did his duty. He felt content.

Only later, back at his cabin did Naruto realize how _bad_ of an idea that actually was on his part, when Sasuke started running his hands through his blonde locks, making a shiver run down his spine.

Sasuke had played with his hair countless of times before. That was nothing new. What _was_ new, was the realization he came to a few days ago.

(Crushing on Sasuke was one thing. Being in _love_ with him, however, opened up a completely different can of worms.)

He closed his eyes, clenching his fists to try and stop any traitorous sounds from leaving his throat.  
_Don’t moan. Don’t moan. Don’t moan._

His inner monologue got interrupted by the little, “Ah,” that left his traitorous throat when Sasuke scratched his scalp _just_ right.

 _Fuck_.

“Did you say something?” Came Sasuke’s voice from behind him.

“NO!” He cringed. That was way too fucking loud. “I mean, _no_.”

Sasuke definitely knew he didn’t normally sound like a chain smoker. Jesus. _How was he so bad at functioning like a normal person._

(Sasuke was his _friend_ , for crying out loud! He couldn’t start acting like a buffoon.

So, what? He was in love with his best friend. No biggie. He totally got this!)

He totally did not fucking _get this_.

As Sasuke moved in front of him – seemingly having finished cutting the back –, and told him to, “Open your legs,” Naruto almost choked on his saliva.

Whipping his head up at him, he asked, incredulous. “What?”

Sasuke repeated himself in a bored tone. “Open your legs. I can’t get close enough otherwise.”

 _Oh. Yeah, cool. Cool, cool, cool. Sasuke between his legs. Totally_ fine.

Out loud, he only said in a completely normal – not high-pitched at all, thank you – voice, “Yeah, sure.”

_Nailed it._

Sasuke only gave him a weird look, stepping in closer.

Naruto knew he was staring, but he couldn’t stop. The focused look on Sasuke’s face had his breath catching in his throat.

Sasuke’s tongue was slightly peeking out from behind his pretty lips; eyebrows drawn together the smallest bit – the scar running through his right one making him look unfairly attractive. Button nose scrunching up when he accidentally cut a strand a little too short for his liking. _Cute_. His black waves were held back by the hairband with a sword on the middle of it that Naruto gave him as a gift.

(When he saw it on one of his supply runs, it immediately reminded him of Sasuke; he couldn’t leave it behind.)

As Sasuke’s eyes suddenly made contact with his, he almost yelped. Sasuke seemed a little surprised to find Naruto already looking at him, but he recovered quickly; a familiar smirk breaking out on his face. “Enjoying the view?”

Naruto spluttered, “You–! Wha–, shut up! You know you’re pretty, asshole! No need to rub it in.”

Sasuke let go of the strand he just cut, gently running his hand over the side of Naruto’s head, tickling his ear in the process. “You think I’m pretty?”

“Anyone with eyes does, so yeah, obviously. What about it?” He jutted his chin out in defiance. Sasuke was not getting another blush out of him, believe that!

Sasuke’s fingers reached for his chin, turning his head so he was forced to look into his eyes, “I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”

Actually, never mind. He knew his face was warm without needing to reach up with his hand to feel.

Sasuke pinched his cheeks between his fingers, “You blush so easily. It’s adorable.”

Naruto knocked his hand to the side with an indignant noise. “I’m a grown ass man, I’m not _adorable_. I’m handsome.” Just for good measure, he tucked on, “Fuck off.”

Sasuke just laughed at him. “Alright, you big baby.” Stepping out from between Naruto’s still open thighs, he added, “Your hair’s done, by the way. You’re welcome.”

He reached up to touch his locks, trying to get a feel of what they might look like. “It is? Awesome. Let me see.”

Standing, he wiped the cut hair from his clothes – some even got under his shirt, despite the towel they covered him with.

Since they didn’t exactly have any mirrors lying around in their little wooden cabin, Naruto just took a silver spoon in his hand and checked his reflection.

It was short. Not too much – Sasuke promised he wouldn’t make him bald – but just enough so it wouldn’t get in his way anymore.

Turning back around to look at Sasuke, Naruto gave him a soft smile, “It looks good; almost the same as my mom used to do it.” His eyes filled with warmth, “Thanks.”

Sasuke gave him a matching, soft smile in return. “I’m glad.” With a playful glint in his eye, he added, “You look _handsome_.”

Naruto just threw the spoon at him.

They ended up sharing Naruto’s futon that night.

X

Waking up, it was to tangled limbs and his arm falling asleep – Sasuke used his right bicep as a pillow, head still lying on it.

Naruto had his other arm thrown over Sasuke’s waist, chest plastered to his back. One of his legs squished between Sasuke’s.

Sasuke’s dark locks were tickling his nose; he nuzzled into his neck to scratch it.

Sasuke swatted at his hand covering his belly, “Stop moving around.” His voice was husky and sleep-ridden. A bit muffled from Naruto’s arm so close to his mouth.

Naruto’s sleep numb brain came to a screeching halt.

_Hold on._

He was in bed. Cuddling. With Sasuke. His best friend. Love of his life, probably. _Fuck. Double fuck, actually._

He was pretty sure Sasuke would be able to feel the rapid beating of his heart against his chest any minute now. He didn’t dare move, though.

Then, a stroke of genius hit him.

Trying to act like this was totally _normal_ , not effectted by Sasuke in the _slightest_ , Naruto reached under Sasuke’s shirt to tickle his stomach.

Nothing. Not even a twitch of a limb. He tried moving his fingers, reaching for Sasuke’s sides, his chest, his armpit, under his chin. Still nothing.

Raising his head with an incredulous look on his face, embarrassment almost forgotten and outrage taking its place, he hovered over Sasuke, “The hell? Are you even human? Who the fuck’s not ticklish?”

Sasuke, with his eyes still closed, drawled in a casual voice, “All that’s doing is getting my dick hard. So I suggest you stop if you don’t wanna do something about it.”

Naruto shot out of the bed like a bullet. “What the fuck! I hate you so much! Who even says shit like that!”

His cheeks were burning.

( _Not_ because he was suddenly more turned on than he'd ever been in his life, nope.)

Rolling onto his back and putting his arms behind his head, Sasuke smirked at him. “Weren’t you the one insisting on being a grown man just yesterday? Stop spluttering like an idiot, then. It’s just morning wood.”

Naruto gaped at him.

(He was _definitely_ not going to check if Sasuke was actually hard. No. Nu-uh. No way. Nope. Never. Not happening.

…Okay, maybe just a little peek– No!)

He turned his back on Sasuke without a word, muttering under his breath as he left, “I’ll actually take you seriously one of these days; we’ll see who’s an idiot then.”

(He didn’t hear Sasuke grumbling, “God, I fucking _hope_ so.”)

X

Naruto made up his mind, after that. He was going to put an end to Sasuke’s stupid game.

His heart couldn’t handle it any more.

X

The tension between them finally exploded a few days later.

They got paired up for an outside-the-walls supply run for the first time since Naruto arrived at the camp.

Both of them were a little gross and sweaty, having had to fight off a smaller group of the Dead roaming inside the pharmacy, and a few outside the building.

He was bending over to pick up what seemed to be an unopened box of painkillers that had fallen down from a broken shelf, when he heard a whistle behind himself.

Turning, with his butt still in the air, he found a smirking Sasuke leaning on one of the still standing shelves; his hand loosely gripping the handle of his sword in its sheath. Eyes ogling his butt.

Naruto straightened with a scowl, turning on Sasuke and pointing an accusing finger at him, “Bastard!”

Sasuke just bit down on his lower lip. Popping it out from between his teeth, he answered in a casual tone, “What? Can’t a man have a look? It’s a nice ass.”

Truth be told, he really didn't mind Sasuke looking at him. It didn't make him uncomfortable in the least. He knew Sasuke was aware of that, otherwise he would have stopped by now. Sasuke wasn't the kind of person that who didn't back off when it was clear his actions weren't received well.

He just wanted Sasuke to find him attractive _for real_. Not this stupid game that was just amusement for him.

Anger exploded in his chest. “I’ll give you a fucking look, alright! Why are you playing with me?”

This was _it_. He was ending this. His patience was already stretched thin enough.

Even if he ended up confessing, and got rejected, he would at least _know_. It would hurt, yes. But not as much as Sasuke so casually dangling _hope_ in front of his nose on a golden string.

Sasuke’s eyebrows drew together in genuine confusion, “Playing?”

With heavy gesticulations, his voice hardened, “Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about! All the compliments, checking me out… what the hell are you getting at?”

With a sigh, Sasuke ran a palm down his face, “It’s called _flirting_ , you dumbass.”

“I know what flirting is, asshole! But why are you flirting with _me_ if you don’t mean it? Friends don’t do that!”

A beat of silence.

“Who says I don’t mean it?”

Naruto was taken aback. “…What?”

Sasuke repeated himself, starting to walk closer, “Who says I don’t mean everything I say? I don’t tend to run my mouth uselessly.”

_Wait. Hold on. What?_

Mouth a little agape, Naruto asked, “… You were serious?”

“Have been for the past few months, thanks for noticing.”

Naruto let out a quiet, “ _Holy shit_.”

He couldn’t believe this. Sasuke was _serious_. He _meant_ to flirt with him. Not as teasing. But with actual romantic intentions. _Holy shit._

 _Sasuke liked him._ _Sasuke, love of his life, had feelings for him too. Holy. Shit._

Sasuke snorted. “You thick-headed idiot, I’ve been trying to show you I’m _interested_. In _you_.”

Trying to cover up how embarrassed he was by completely misinterpreting Sasuke’s actions, he crossed his arms, hardening his gaze, “Well, why couldn’t you just say it like a normal person?”

He was praying to god this would be the one time he could stop the blush from breaking out on his cheeks. He was pretty sure high blood pressure was actually going to put him in an early grave, and it was all _Sasuke’s fault._

Eyebrows raising, Sasuke gave him an incredulous look, “Would you have believed me if I told you I liked you?”

“Well-...! You see, that–!”

Okay. So maybe Sasuke had a point. He’d have probably just chalked it up to Sasuke teasing him. As usual.

 _Fuck._ He was such an idiot.

Sasuke went on, “Exactly. So I’ve been dropping hints, actually, fucking _bombshells_ on you that I want to kiss you, and you thought I was _playing_?” He raised his hands in an _'unbelievable'_ gesture.

“Oh, shut up, bastard.” Fuck being embarrassed. He need Sasuke's mouth on his _yesterday_.

Closing the rest of the distance between them, Naruto whispered in a low voice, “Just fucking kiss me already, then.”

Sasuke reached out for his collar, dragging him close to his chest. Before their mouths crashed together, he breathed out a, “Fucking _finally_ ,” against his lips.

Hands were in each other’s hair; pulling, caressing.

Naruto hadn’t realized before how convenient their similar height was – if he wanted to kiss Sasuke, all he had to do was lean in a little closer, and their lips would almost line up perfectly.

The thought had him humming into Sasuke’s mouth. Every part of their bodies seemed to fit seamlessly. He liked that. Felt like he was made to be Sasuke’s. And Sasuke to be his.

He was pushed up onto the broken shelf, Sasuke standing between his legs. He trailed his hand down Sasuke’s back, grabbing his hips, squeezing his butt. He grinned; his words slightly muffled by Sasuke’s bottom lip between his teeth, “Nice ass.”

Sasuke pulled back with a grin, only to lean back and gently bite down on his cheek, “One would think you’d be less chatty with my tongue down your throat.”

Naruto hummed with a cheeky grin, “ _One_ would have to do a little more than that to shut me up.”

Sasuke leaned back with a dark look in his eyes, “Is that an invitation?”

Naruto just kissed him again in answer.

They both had their pants unzipped, fists around each other’s cocks.

Sasuke let out a whine when Naruto disconnected their lips – he needed to breathe.

Blindly searching for Naruto’s lips with his own, eyes still closed, Sasuke tried to get his mouth back on Naruto's again “ _More,_ ” he demanded with a husky voice.

Naruto immediately complied.

(Getting lost in each other, a thought came to Naruto, unbidden.

 _The world isn't such a bad place if it has you in it._ )

X

They couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, after that.

(Naruto was a little mortified at how little their relationship actually changed. The only difference was that he could actually kiss the daylights out of Sasuke, now.)

Getting caught making out in questionable positions, pushing each other up on the closest surface they could find became a regular occurence.

So did holding hands, fingers linked, whenever they walked.

Sharing a bed – mostly at Naruto’s little cabin where theí had more privacy – on most nights. Waking up to kisses and hands all over their bodies. A warm chest or back pressing up to them during the night, always touching in some way. Limbs tangled in the most ridiculous of ways.

Desperate _'I'm glad you're alive_ ' love-making after one of them had a mission outside the walls without the other.

Those nights overflowing with emotions - and who was he kidding, every minute spent with Sasuke -, had three little words almost bubbling up from his throat.

They never actually left his mouth, though.

(His feelings seemed too powerful to control, too large for him to handle; it scared the absolute shit out of him.

So he choked the words down, and kissed Sasuke harder.

He was sure Sasuke knew what he meant, anyway.)

Naruto couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been this happy.

(But all good things come to an end, eventually.

He should have known that by now.)

X

It was supposed to be an ordinary supply run. They’d go out, kill some of the Dead in their way, gather the supplies they could find, load the track. Drive back home. Easy. Business as usual.

It wasn’t.

X

He got paired up with Neji and Kiba to gather some supplies outside of the walls.

Sasuke was at the gates, giving him one last goodbye kiss before they had to leave.

Just as Sasuke was about to pull away, Naruto reached out through the rolled down window of the passenger seat – already inside the track – to grab his collar and drag him down for another. “One more,” he whispered against his lips.

It was Kiba’s loud banging on the hood of the car that had them finally pulling apart, “Alright, lovebirds! Enough with the PDA, we need to leave.”

Sasuke gave him one last, placating kiss on the nose when he saw Naruto was about to protest. Then pushed himself off the closed truck door.

Naruto almost whined in frustration.

This was ridiculous. He was already missing Sasuke, and they hadn’t even started the car yet.

With the words, “Don’t die out there, idiot, “ Sasuke stepped back, just as Neji finally turned the key in the ignition from the driver’s seat.

As they drove away, Naruto watched Sasuke stand there, hands in his pockets, wavy hair slightly blowing in the wind, for as long as he could.

Just as he was about to lose sight of him, he barely caught Sasuke’s mouth moving in the distance. Lips curling around three little words.

The same words he had been choking down for a while now.

_I love you._

X

They had been driving around for hours – it was almost noon now, and they sat out a little after the sun rose –, trying to find a store that wasn’t completely emptied. Naruto felt like they were going in circles, not making any actual progress, when they happened upon a three-story building that had a little grocery shop tucked into the ground floor. They would have easily driven past it if it wasn’t for the broken, but still somehow flickering little carrot-shaped sign outside its door.

Getting out of the truck, they left the doors open – not like anyone was going to steal it, but it could save their asses if they needed a quick escape.

Feet hitting the ground, Naruto clenched down hard on his machete. He wanted to be back home, back with _Sasuke -_ though the two had started to mean the same to him now – as soon as possible.

Rising from the backseat, Kiba spoke up, “Alright, let’s go lads.” Grabbing his gun, he turned so he faced both of them with a grin, “I hope we find something with alcohol in there. It’s been ages since I had a good buzz.”

Fastening his belt and making sure his gun was loaded, Neji responded in a deadpan voice, “And if we’re lucky, maybe you die in there.”

Kiba just sent him a few kisses with puckered lips.

Gearing up, the three of them started in the direction of the store’s entrance.

X

(None of them knew how true Neji’s words would ring a few hours later.)

X

Dust. Dust everywhere.

It was in his mouth, his eyes, up his nose.

His ears were ringing.

He tried moving, but a sudden sharp pain in his leg had him hissing. Attempting to make sense of what the _fuck_ was happening, he slowly took in his surroundings.

He was laying on his back. There was something heavy on his chest and his arms were hard to move. His right leg was stuck under a chandelier; that was the source of the pain. A larger piece of glass was embedded in his thigh. _Great_. Regaining more consciousness, he realized he was actually buried under parts of the collapsed ceiling.

The sound of growling suddenly snapped him to attention. Turning his head, his eyes widened in alarm. One of the Dead was barely a few inches from his face, snapping its jaw, trying to bite down on anything it could reach. The upper body and head the only body parts it had intact, while the rest got crushed under the debris. Its guts were fanned out around it, tangled up on the iron rod sticking out from the ground stopping it from getting closer to Naruto. That was the only reason he was still breathing.

He frantically tried to sit up. _The Dead. The collapsed ceiling. He was still in the grocery store._ Quick as lightning, the memories of the past few hours assaulted him.

_They were bagging up anything they thought would be useful. They were relaxed; it seemed to be quiet. There were only a few of the Dead around that they killed on their way in. Then a sudden noise – almost like the sick sound of a bone breaking clean in half – had them reaching for their weapons. It was no use._

_The floors above them caved in seemingly out of nowhere – a mistake on their part; they hadn’t noticed the moist ceiling upon entering._

_The sound of bags crunching as they were shoved into their backpacks; the loud cackling of Kiba after he threw expired lube at Neji’s forehead, and all the other little signs of life they were making alerted the dormant Dead stuck inside the apartments on the upper floors. When the Dead started moving around, the water-damaged floors finally gave under the strain._

_Naruto didn’t remember anything afterwards._

Snapping back to the present, he looked around desperately, trying to locate Neji and Kiba. No use. All he could see was debris. And the Dead, all around him; some buried under the damaged walls with broken bones piercing through their yellowish flesh, but still trying to claw their way to Naruto. Others with their faces caved in, their eyeballs clinging to the sockets with the last nerve. Several missing their legs and arms.

Directing his gaze upwards, he saw the roof through a gaping hole in the ceiling – or what was left of it, anyway.

The Dead that didn’t fall during the collapse were still roaming around the intact spots of the upper floors, throwing themselves down, one by one, in the direction of fresh blood.

Naruto’s breathing quickened, his mind finally registered how absolutely _fucked_ he was.

He tried to collect himself. He could do this. Sasuke was waiting for him. He couldn’t let him down.

Eyes hardening, his gaze burned with determination.

(He absolutely refused to think about what might have happened to Kiba and Neji. He was sure they were okay, that they’d laugh about how fucking _insane_ this was on their way back home with a few bruises and wounds here and there.)

Grabbing a solid piece of concrete, still lying on the ground, he bashed in the Dead’s skull that hadn’t let up on trying to get a bite out of him. Then heaved the debris off of his chest, finally sitting up.

Getting the glass out of the flesh of his thigh hurt like a motherfucker, but he couldn’t waste any more time. The Dead falling from the other floors were a lot more energetic than the ones crushed into pieces on the ground.

Not seeing his machete anywhere, he grabbed the iron rod the Dead’s guts were tangled on, and stood up.

His ankle looked a bit weird, and the wound on his thigh was deep, almost to the bone. He might have even had a mild concussion, but _fuck_ all of that.

He was getting out of here alive.

He was going to see Sasuke again.

“Kiba! Neji! Where the fuck are you guys?” he yelled, piercing through the eye socket of one of the Dead.

No response.

“Answer me, assholes!” All he could feel was rage. The adrenaline pumping through his veins masked the pain he surely should be in, considering how _two fucking stories_ collapsed on him.

At that moment, though, he felt like he could kill God.

“Stop fucking around! Neji! Kiba! Fucking answer me!”

Kicking one of the Dead in the kneecaps, _hard_ – successfully breaking its legs –, he snapped his head in the direction where three of the Dead were ignoring him and gathering around something. His heart rate picked up. That was never a good sign.

_No! Don’t even think about it!_

Moving closer with careful steps, he suddenly froze, his senses going numb.

Long, blood-caked brown hair was peeking out from under a collapsed wall.

The body it was attached to was motionless.

Neji still had his gun clenched in his palm. Eyes wide open in fear. A pole ledged straight through his forehead, blood all around him.

A desperate sob forced its way out of Naruto’s throat. “No! No, no, no, no.”

He run up to the Dead in the middle of tearing into Neji’s still warm limbs, killing them with way more force than necessary, his vision blurred by angry tears.

Falling on his knees next to his friend, he couldn’t stop the water flowing down his cheeks. In a soft, broken voice, he whispered, “No. This can’t be happening again. Neji, please get up.”

Neji just stared back at nothing; eyes forever frozen in dread.

Naruto didn’t even have the time to properly mourn his friend before he was forced to get up and fight. The Dead still in the store were rapidly fumbling their way to him.

With one last look back at Neji, he yelled, “I’ll be back for you, I promise!”

He was only met with silence.

X

Fighting his way to the door, he almost felt relieved when he couldn’t see Kiba. _Maybe he managed to get out._

But as he took in what was happening outside, he almost dropped to his knees again.

The Dead. Everywhere. He couldn’t even see their car. The whole building was surrounded. There was no way he could fight them all on his own and live to see another day.

_No. No, no, no. This couldn’t be fucking happening._

The collapse must have been so loud it alerted every one of the Dead around the area.

He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious, but judging from the absolute fucking chaos happening outside, it must have been hours.

_Fuck._

He had to find Kiba.

His only luck was that the Dead seemed to be just gathering around aimlessly; it afforded him a chance to sneak out through the broken glass door before the Dead still inside could get to him first.

Only, when he stepped outside, the coppery smell of his still bleeding wound had the heads of the Dead closest to the entrance turning in his direction.

He tried killing the first few that came running at him with jaws snapping as discretely as possible, counting on the rest not paying him mind for this escape.

Naturally, that didn’t go the way he wanted to, either.

The more he killed, the more attention he drew to himself.

In his desperation, he squatted down, using one of the rotten bodies he killed as a shield, trying to sneak out under the feet of the Dead.

Getting down, the path to their truck momentarily cleared up.

He almost shouted – forgetting what position he was actually in from joy – when he could see Kiba’s ugly sneakers next to their car.

_He’s okay. We can take the car back home._

His happiness was short lived, however.

Moving his eyes upward, he took in the state the rest of Kiba’s body was in.

His feet were on the ground. Upper body pushed through the rolled down window of the door on the driver’s side.

His guts pooled next to him on the ground. Left arm half missing. The other one chewed down to the bone.

He was still holding their walkie-talkie in his bloodied grip.

Naruto’s mind shut down.

X

He couldn’t breathe.

Sweat was dripping down his face and getting into his eyes and he could barely see anything and he _couldn’t fucking breathe_. But he couldn’t stop.

He clenched his jaw – biting his tongue in the process, the coppery taste of blood spreading in his mouth; he ignored it, it didn’t matter. Pushed himself harder, forced his legs to move faster. _He couldn’t stop._

His lungs were burning. Every breath in felt like pinpricks of a needle. The deep wound on his thigh hadn’t stopped oozing red; the colour of his skin on his clenched fists could barely be seen from all the grime covering them. His ankle was definitely sprained.

And still, he couldn’t stop.

Only one thought kept him going.

_Run! Run, you can’t die here! You have to see him again!_

His vision was getting blurry; either from blood loss, pain or exhaustion, he didn’t know. It didn’t matter. _Just run! You can’t fucking die here! Not until you actually tell him first!_

Stepping in a hole on the road, he suddenly felt his legs give out. He hit the ground with a hard _thud_.

 _No!_ He desperately tried to gather every last bit of his energy. _No! You can’t fucking die here! Get up, you piece of shit! You have to tell him you love him! You can’t fucking die without telling him you love him! You have to make sure he knows!_

Angry tears gathered in his eyes. He wiped them off aggressively with the back of his hand. He commanded his legs to move; they were going numb. It didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered but seeing _him_ again.

_Just get the fuck up and run!_

He put his weight on his forearms, lifting himself up. Slowly, the rest of his body followed. He looked back. They were getting closer.

(Not getting the horde’s attention went right out of the fucking window after he witnessed his friend’s limp body.

He didn’t even remember how he managed to run this far.)

Taking a deep breath and gritting his teeth in pain, he heaved himself up to stand.

Only to come crashing back down when the pain suddenly overwhelmed him. His skull hit the concrete so hard he felt his brain rattle inside.

While he laid on the dirt, eyes slowly shutting as his body finally gave in, he could see the Dead closing in. _This is it, huh._ He could have laughed.

Even on the brink of death, he still thought to himself, _All of this was worth it. Loving_ him _was worth_ everything.

Despite him fighting a vicious battle to cling to his consciousness, darkness was rapidly setting in.

The last thing on his mind was _him_.

_Sasuke, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back to you. I love you. Please, forgive me. I love you._

With a tear sliding down his blood, sweat and dirt covered face, his body went still.

_A few hours earlier…_

A sizzling noise at his side suddenly grabbed Sasuke’s attention. He was up on the watchtower, currently on guard duty with Juugo by his side.

Looking down, he reached for the walkie-talkie attached to his belt. A static voice was coming through the speakers.

“...–an anyone hea–, “ more static. Sasuke still managed to make out the absolute panic in the voice, trying to get the words out so fast he must have almost choked on his tongue, “The store collap– … injured– … can’t fin–… the Dead are coming–”

Then, as the line suddenly cut off, all he could hear was the static again.

_Kiba._

He stood there, frozen for a few seconds.

Dread was slowly filling him up from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. Thoughts of Naruto, lying somewhere, motionless, as the Dead were ripping him to pieces assaulted his mind out of nowhere.

He clenched down on the device in his grip so hard it let out a little creaking noise.

Bringing the walkie-talkie up to his mouth lighting fast – almost knocking his own teeth out in in the process –, he practically yelled, “Kiba, can you hear me? What happened? Where are you guys?” Letting go of the call button, he waited for an answer.

Silence.

His jaw clenched.

Tried again, heart in his throat. “Kiba! What happened?” More static. “Where are you?”

Silence, again.

Then, “...–grocery store, up north–…. an hour drive awa–…you’ll know when you get he–...“ Static, “hurr–...”

The line went dead for the last time.

Sasuke was jumping down from the watchtower and ripping out a gas-filled car’s door before anyone could utter another word; flooring it out of the gates.

He would walk the entire fucking Earth on his bare feet in search for Naruto. Fight anything and anyone who dared get in his way.

Would stop at nothing, if only it meant he could keep Naruto by his side for just another day.

X

Warm.

He was so _warm_.

He tried opening his eyes. They wouldn’t obey him. His eyelids felt like lead.

A groan left his throat. His body felt like he’d been through a meat grinder.

The pain had his eyes suddenly snapping open in panic.

 _The Dead._ They were coming for him. He was going to die. He was going to die alone and dirty and he would never even be able to tell Sasuke he loved–

A voice cut through the haze in his mind; stopping his rampant thoughts dead in their tracks.

“..–ruto. Naruto?”

He whipped his head to the side, eyes wide open.

_He would recognize that voice in a room filled with nothing but noise._

_Sasuke._

_Sasuke was here._ Kneeling next to him, looking at him with eyes brimming with concern and unshed tears. With _love_. So much love it had a sob ripping out of Naruto’s throat.

Sasuke rushed forward to take his face in his hands, pulling him closer, “Shh. You’re okay. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything else happen to you.” His voice was hoarse. Almost as if he’d been crying.

Naruto just started shaking his head back and forth, tears free-falling down his cheeks.

He didn’t give a fuck about his _safety_. Sasuke was _here_.

He was here, pressing kisses all over Naruto’s snotty face. Bandages covering his arms; bandait on his forehead. A fresh cut above his lips. Climbing up to lay next to him on the makeshift stretcher that Temari used to treat the wounded on.

Naruto could do nothing but wrap his aching body as tight around Sasuke as his strength let him.

He was never letting him go again.

The only sounds leaving his mouth as he sobbed into Sasuke’s chest were _I love you. I love you. I love you._

Sasuke echoed back each, and every one.

“You came for me?” Barely a whisper.

“ _Always._ ” A promise.

_fin_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone got to the end of this, thank you. honestly. ur braver than the troops.
> 
> usual notes that i just use to make excuses for why the fic sucked:  
> 1\. HOLY SHIT WORLD BUILDING IS SO HARD???? if it was wacky or u felt like something was missing/didnt make sense, then it was probably bc it Was and it Didnt and i just forgot about it??? my bad???  
> 2\. cliché ending for a cliché au???????? gotta stay on brand!  
> 3\. the action scenes. man. fuck action scenes. and plot, for that matter. never again.  
> 4\. my deepest regret is making kushina and minato work in the military. i am sorry for the bottom of my heart. i just didnt know how else itd would make sense for naruto to still be alive on his own rip  
> 5\. it took me days to try to think of a good alternative for zombie that wouldnt get me sued and all i got was...... the dead. then with rach's help it became..... the Dead. ur welcome for sharing our genius.  
> 6\. no itachi loving in this house i hope that was loud and clear in the fic!  
> 7\. im sorry i did kiba and neji so dirty, i actually tolerate them <3  
> 8\. i might upload 2 more short scenes as like a bonus chapter that could be viewed as either a part of the fic or just a lil fluff. (i wanted to give them a kid bc ive never written dads sns before but then felt like it didnt fit w the vibe lol)  
> this got too long again, sorry lol thank u if u read my word vomit tho!
> 
> comments/kudos/bookmarks are really appreciated so i know i didnt waste days of my life and my mental stability on this for nothing lol  
> bye, stay safe yall <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are the parts i decided to not include! they could be viewed as either canon or just a lil extra fluff, up to u. :)
> 
> originally, the first scene was supposed to be before the shit went down at the store with neji and kiba bc i wanted to give sns a kid they could raise lol  
> the second scene was the ending i planned if i had kept the idea
> 
> enjoy!

One of Naruto's supply runs went a little different than usual.

As they were ready to leave what used to be a surely nice supermarket - but now its walls were in shambles, windows broken, the door barely hanging on to its hinges -, muffled sounds coming from somewhere inside had them stopping dead in their tracks.

He shared a brief look with Konan and Juugo.

“You guys heard that, too?” he raised his machete.

He got two nods in response.

"Should we check it out?" Konan spoke up in a lowered voice. "We're done here, anyway," .

Naruto had a weird feeling about this.

“Yeah," he decided. "It almost sounded like… crying.”

As they slowly approached, weapons at the ready, the volume of the sound gradually increased as well.

The closer they got, the surer Naruto was that they were right to pursue the source.

It was definitely crying.

Coming to a halt, they found themselves in the toy section of the store.

(This was one of the aisles they didn't thoroughly check beyond making sure there was none of the Dead lurking around. They were on a food run; rotting toys were not exactly of any use to them.

Though, Naruto was tempted to find something ugly to bring back to Sasuke.)

When the source of the weeping finally came into view, their weapons immediately lowered.

A child.

A child – not looking much older than six – curled up in a little ball, clutching a dirty plush dinosaur to their chest, letting out heart-breaking sobs.

Their clothes look ragged. Deep brown, messy curls reaching down to the middle of their back looking greasy; unkempt. Almond-coloured eyes filled with tears; tanned skin covered in snot and dirt.

Naruto's heart clenched in his chest at the sight.

Thrusting his machete into Juugo’s hand without taking his eyes off the kid for even a second, he kneeled down – trying to not scare the child any more than they already were. “Hey. Are you okay there, buddy?" His voice was gentle. "Are you alone? Where are your parents?”

The child just shook their head back and forth, eyes squeezing shut. They pressed their forehead to their knees, holding onto the toy with a death grip. The crying didn't let up.

“Hey, ssh. It’s okay. You’re safe now. We’re not going to hurt you." That didn't work. The kid wouldn't even look at him.

He tried again, "What’s your name?” No answer. He didn't give up. “Mine’s Naruto. And I really like your T-Rex. Looks really cool. Does it have a name?”

That finally got a reaction.

The child raised their head - carefully; like they weren't sure it'd be okay -, then reached up to wipe their eyes with a little fist. The crying quieted down.

With a sniff, the child spoke up for the first ime - voice barely a mumble, “…it’s a velociraptor.” 

“Hm?” Naruto leaned slightly forward on his knees.

Letting their iron grip on the plush go, the kid raised it up a bit. Their voice bacame a little louder. “It’s a velociraptor." A pause. Then, "her name’s Kiko.” 

Naruto let a smile broke out on his face.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Silly me." A little laugh left his mouth. "You're obviously the smarter one between the two of us.”

That got him the smallest of giggles. Naruto beamed. “Kiko’s a really pretty name. Did you name her?”

Excitement suddenly shined in the little baby’s still teary eyes - sadness seemingly forgotten for the moment, “Uh-huh! Mommy got her for me!”

Naruto didn't want to bring up the subject again, but he had to know. It'd decide what he'd do next. Gently, he inquired, “And where is your mom?”

Wrong question.

Tears started flowing down the little face again. “Mommy’s not coming back.”

Naruto’s chest tightened. He knew exactly what that meant. 

Slowly, he reached out - making sure it was okay. When the child didn't seem to mind, he tucked a lock of hair behind their ear. Then wiped the tears covering their little cheeks with his thumb.

He felt his own eyes water. No child should ever have to go through something like this. He didn't even want to think about how long the child could have been staying alone, afraid; with no one to take care of them. When was the last time they even ate anything. His stomach twisted. He had to do something.

Looking behind him at Konan and Juugo - who simply chose to let Naruto handle this, apparently -, he asked a silent question with his eyes.

They shared a look, then raised their gaze back to Naruto. They both gave him a nod.

Decision made, he turned back to the child. “How about this. You can come with us and you can tell me all about Kiko in the car. Would you like that?”

The child raised their gaze from their little plush. For a while, they didn't say anything. Just staring at Naruto; almost like making sure he could be trusted.

Then a silent, "Okay."

Naruto gave them his softest smile. “Great.” He stood up, reaching a hand out for them to take. “Come on, then. I’m excited to hear about her.”

With a tentative hand, the child placed their tiny palm in Naruto’s.

In the car, Naruto sat in the backseat with Fumie in his lap.

(After the child got a little more comfortable around them - offering food was always a sure way to win someone's heart -, he found out they were actually a little girl.)

She was sound asleep, clinging to his neck.

Naruto caressed her back with a gentle smile on his face.

_I won't let anything else happen to you, I promise._

X

_A few years later…_

“Dad!” No response. “Daddy!” Still nothing. “Daddyyyyy!” Finally, a groan.

A sleepy voice answered, sound muffled by the pillow, “What, Fumie? Is something wrong?”

“Papa made breakfast, come eat before it gets cold!”

“Mhm. Uh-um, will be there in a sec, sweetheart.” Then with that, he closed his eyes and pulled the covers over his face.

Fumie puffed out her little cheeks in frustration. “Papaaa! Daddy’s not getting up!”

Sasuke appeared in the doorway with a butter knife in his hand. “What did you say, baby?”

Starting to bounce on Naruto’s back, she turned to Sasuke, “Daddy’s being a lazy ass!”

Naruto was immediately up. “Hey! Who taught you that, miss?”

Fumie blinked big, innocent eyes at him, “Papa calls you that all the time." Confusion broke out on her face, "Is it bad?”

Sasuke just let out a snort from the doorway.

Naruto whipped his head at him, "You bast-," before finishing, he looked sideways at Fumie. "You poopy-head!" he let out instead.

Slapping a dramatic hand on his forehead, he fell back on the bed with a mock-hurt expression, “No one loves me in this house!”

Fumie just giggled, jumping onto Naruto’s chest to plant a big, sticky kiss on his cheek, ”Nooo, daddy! I love you!” Turning back to Sasuke, she tucked on, “And papa loves you too. Right, papa?”

Sasuke walked closer to them, sitting down on the bed as well.

Tucking a curly lock of brown hair behind his daughter’s ears, he leaned in to kiss her forehead. She let out another happy giggle in response.

Then moved over to plant a soft kiss on Naruto’s lips. Reaching out, he took Naruto’s hand in his; gently caressing the handmade iron band on his ring finger.

(It took Sasuke _days_ to carve the words ‘ _Yours, forever_ ’ on the inside.)

He finally answered with the smile reserved for Naruto and their daughter only, “I sure do, baby. I sure do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading! take care yall <3


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